In the film \2001: A Space Odyssey,"" a computer named HAL ran an entire spaceship. Likewise, at the Biotron, one of UW-Madison's most advanced research facilities, an enormous server directs all building operations. Conditions need to be finely controlled because the Biotron houses some of the most revolutionary research conducted quietly on campus.
Located across from the Natatorium near the School of Veterinary Medicine, the Biotron looks like an ordinary campus building from the outside. Inside, however, it contains a variety of controlled-environment research spaces, all managed by a central computer that precisely controls every detail.
""There is no light switch [for our room in the Biotron]. The lights are turned on by computer,"" said Courtney Fleck, a graduate student in comparative biosciences. ""Pretty much everything is done by computer.""
Biotron labs rely on such precise control because the university and private industry projects that are carried out there represent some of the most cutting-edge research on campus. It has greenhouses that have been used to monitor natural ozone production by plants, as well as to grow potatoes genetically modified to vaccinate against hepatitis B. Other rooms have simulated cold, damp basements to test dehumidifier prototypes. It even houses altitude chambers that have been used to predict how medical equipment will function in high-altitude cities.
Constructed in the 1960s, the Biotron was one of many research facilities built nationwide at that time. For many years it was seen as a waste of university resources, said James Tracy, the facility's interim director. Compared to other campus buildings, it was energy-inefficient, expensive to maintain and chronically underutilized.
It appears the Biotron was ahead of its time because now, four decades later, the building is over-subscribed for projects. Researchers are lined up for their chance to use the facility, one of only four biotrons in the country.
""One lab's research project will finish on the 23rd of the month, and a new project will start [in the same room] on the 24th,"" Tracy said.
In the Biotron, scientists can create research environments that enable them to perform groundbreaking studies.
""[It is] a highly specialized building,"" Tracy said. ""People come to us saying, 'I need a room with these conditions' and we can provide the specific conditions.""
For example, the greenhouses are all closed-ventilation systems where temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide and other factors can be manipulated. Other rooms offer similar options but can exclude natural sunlight. Some rooms block out sound waves, while others contain altitude chambers that can simulate pressure corresponding to 14,000 feet above to 100 feet below sea level.
Hannah Carey, UW-Madison professor of comparative biosciences, studies hibernating animals-those with very low body temperatures-in research that may help improve cold storage of human organs before transplantation. Carey keeps her hibernating ground squirrels at the Biotron since regular animal facilities are not equipped to operate at such low temperatures. Because of animal care regulations, no ordinary cold room will do.
""[Without the Biotron], it would be difficult, if not impossible, to do our research,"" Carey said.
